Dominic Zaffino is only ten years old. Within the short amount of time that he has been walking this Earth, he has already survived cancer. Though the chemotherapy treatment helped Zaffino out tremendously, it stunted his growth. Due to being short, children bullied Dominic. He wasn’t going to put up with that behavior, though. The ten year old survivor stood up to his bullies, with a little help from social media. On Instagram, he posted a picture that said the following:
“To every one that calls me short: You know I may be short but that’s better than being dead…I had cancer (if you haven’t found out it’s DEADLY) I like who I Am and I am very lucky to still be living. And everyone that thinks they’re huge that’s not the greatest thing in the world (you could develop problems). You don’t have to be tall to win. I could be tall but God slowed down my growth for me to be the best person I can become. Let that sink in and think of this before you call someone short…”
The message went viral, and big names-including QuestLove- shared the Philadelphia child’s message. Since he took a stand for himself, he was awarded a Medal of Courage by the founder of Teach Anti bullying Incorporated on April 20, in his own home.
Medal of Courage recipient shares some great advice, saying “Stand up to bullying. It’s just not really a good thing at all. It’s really hard to go through and it’s tough.”